Disabled Children's Service

The Disabled Children’s Team offers support to children and young people with severe learning and physical disabilities. To decide what support is appropriate we undertake an Assessment of Need.

Following this assessment and the identification of any needs that are not yet being met, a decision is made as to whether the child or young person is eligible to receive a service from the Team.

To ensure that our services are targeting the right children and young people, we apply the eligibility criteria below. The intention of these criteria is to ensure that we do not simply consider the diagnosis that a child or young person may have but consider the effects their disability has on their day-to-day life. To be eligible for a service from the Disabled Children’s Team, children and young people must meet the following criteria:

1. Be aged between 0-18 years and be ordinarily resident in Liverpool;
2. Have complex needs, in addition to any behavioural problems including ADHD and ADD that may be present;
3. There must be evidence that the child or young person’s additional needs impact significantly on their ability to enjoy ordinary day to day activities;
4. The child or young person must require a much greater level of day-to-day care to meet their needs than would usually be required for a child or young person of that age;
5. They must require a significantly higher level of support in at least three of the following areas than would usually be required for their age:
   1. Personal care and supervision;
   2. Education or employment;
   3. Access to social activities;
   4. Communication;
   5. The physical environment.
6. The child or young person’s condition is life limiting or expected to last 6 months or more.

Further guidance relating to eligibility criteria is available in the local resources section of the manual.

Referrals to the Team can be made through Council’s CASS Service. When making a referral, families and/or professionals should provide as much information as possible about the child’s disability and the impact of this on their daily lives, details of professionals already involved with the family and the reason for the referral, for example, what the family want from the Disabled Children’s Team. Professionals making referrals should be clear they have obtained informed consent from the family before making a referral.

When a referral to the Disabled Children’s Team is received, a social worker is allocated to undertake the Assessment of Need. Within this assessment the social worker and family identify the strengths the family already have in meeting the child’s needs, with the support of any professionals already involved. This helps identify if the child has any unmet needs and who could meet these needs. Needs can be met by the immediate and wider family and support network, professionals already involved or referrals to other professionals and community and universal services.

Following this assessment and the identification of any needs that are not yet being met, a decision is made as to whether the child or young person is eligible to receive a service from the Team.

If, following an Assessment of Need, a decision is made that the child or young person is not eligible for services, the allocated Social Worker will clearly explain to the family the reasons for this decision. The Social Worker will signpost to other services if appropriate.

If, following an Assessment of Need a decision is made that the child or young person is in need of a service, the child or young person will be supported through a Child in Need Plan (Section 17 of Children Act 1989).  This plan is reviewed on a regular basis. The review may result in no changes, a change to the agreed service, an increase or decrease in the amount of service or the withdrawal of the service, if the need is no longer apparent or eligibility criteria are no longer met.

As a general principle, where children and families can receive mainstream and/or services which are part of the local offer, these should be provided as a way of minimising the impact of disability and avoiding any unnecessary segregation. 

Where the assessment identifies that specialist services are required, these may be provided by health or voluntary agencies as well as the local authority. The assessment will make recommendations as to the kind of services or equipment that are required to meet the child's needs.

The provision of equipment will usually be dealt with through the Occupational Therapy Team on a long term loan basis. Adaptation work through a Disabilities Facilities Grant can be carried out by referral to the local authority and the family will be referred to the Occupational Therapy Team by contacting CASS.

The support services that may be offered to a disabled child and his/her family range from:

• The provision of information on services provided under the local offer;
• Support for the child in/outside the home;
• Short breaks including overnight care - see Short Breaks - Disabled Children's Service Procedure;
• Support services using direct payments where this is the most appropriate option to meet assessed need - see the Direct Payments Scheme Procedure.

When services have been agreed by the Disabled Children's Service, they will be incorporated into a Child in Need Plan - or, where the child becomes Looked After, a Care Plan.

Services can also be provided to carers where the child is disabled. Under the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 carers are entitled to an assessment of their own needs. Any such assessment of carers should follow the guidance in the Assessment Framework. See Liverpool Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Single Assessments.

A request for a carer’s assessment indicates the need for a Single Assessment. The needs of the parents can be recorded under the dimension of family functioning of the Assessment Framework (see Framework for the assessment of children in need and their families, DoE) and Liverpool Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Single Assessments. While there has to be a discrete focus on the needs of the carer, the outcome of this assessment should be integrated with the broader assessment of the disabled child and family. Carers' assessments should not be conducted in isolation.

It is the impact the disability has on daily living that is a key part of the assessment.

The assessment may identify that needs arise due to a child's disability or as a result of a parent's health or disability or a child may be in need of protection from abuse or neglect.

Parents of children with disability and the child (depending on their age and level of understanding) will be given information about the Disability Register - see Section 6, Liverpool Disabled Children & Young Person's Passport.

Local Authorities have a duty to have a record or register of disabled children in their area under the Children Act 1989. The Disabled Children & Young Person's Passport is Liverpool's way of doing this.

Signing up for Liverpool Disabled Children and Young Person's Passport Plus is completely voluntary, but Children's Services would encourage parents to do so.

The register is used to plan and develop services for children with disability and also to assist Adult Services with information on future service needs.

Registering for a passport will not affect any services or benefits. It will also not guarantee a child any additional benefits or services.

Additional information regarding Passport Plus can be found on the Liverpool Family Information and SEND Directory.